Karen is a Senior Lecturer in Physics at the University of Central Lancashire. She is Chair of the Institute of Physics (IOP) Thin Films and Surfaces Group. Karen is interested in the surfaces and interfaces of materials for energy. Her recent research has focussed on ionic liquids, which show great promise for transforming industrial processes such as CO2 capture, catalysis and photovoltaics. She carries out most of her research at national facilities and synchrotrons using photoemission and X-ray absorption techniques.